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Friday, November 01, 2013

Review: The Sentinel

WHAT IF SAVING THE WORLD MEANT LOSING EVERYTHING?

When
Eve is rescued from a horrific coach crash by her teachers, she is
shocked to discover they possess super strength and speed. But what
happens next is even more harrowing. In the aftermath of the crash
she discovers that everyone in her life from neighbours, doctors,
dentists, teachers, shop keepers and even her family and friends are
actually super strength Guardians sent to protect her. They all have
one thing in common, a single minded ferocity that she must be kept
alive at all costs.However, she is surrounded by secrets and lies.
Those in the know deny all knowledge of what happened that fateful
night. Everyone else carries on as normal, seemingly unaware of the new
strange world that she has stumbled against. But those that seek to
destroy her move ever closer. Will the Guardians be enough to protect
her when so many are prepared to stop at nothing to see her dead? And
will she be strong enough to fulfil her destiny when the time comes?

I received a free proof copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my review in any way.

Where do I start with The Sentinel? I don't think I can do it justice, in all honesty. Ok, let me start at the beginning, then. The beginning of the book is descriptive, and I'd fallen in love with Martin's writing style by the third page. She manages to introduce the fantasy of the book within the modern, descriptive action scene in the first few chapters, and all of the action scenes are excecuted amazingly.

The book has a perfect balance of action, description and dialogue, which is sometimes hard to achieve in a fantasy book. It manages to incorporate other scenes from others' point of views within the first person, by scenes such as eavesdropping. The book isn't massively mysterious, but does have that element of intrigue.

The main amazing thing about this book is the development of characters and relationships, whether friends, family or romantic. It's flawless; romantically there are hints before leading up to a perfect scene between the two characters, and even when describing friendly relationships I couldn't find a fault.

Also, the description in The Sentinel is beautiful and detailed, and on every page there's a bit of description, even if just a little. The action is descriptive, too, which sometimes it isn't.

"Finally I broke the peak and the hills behind me went silent.

There was an eerie orange glow that lit up the sky... "

The emotions and thoughts are also like this; described well, justified throughout the book and had me knowing exactly what was going on, but still leaving that mysterious element! I also love the ending! It's really left me hanging for the next book, but not so much that I'm tearing my hair out, which is always good.

My favourite quote, apart from the one I've already mentioned, is one where Eve is contrasting herself to her friends, because she now knows she is different. I think it really shows the fantasy element and how Eve really feels. It's a really long quote, so I've edited some of it out, which is where the ellipses (...) are.

"But that's where the similarities end... riding their bikes

through the woods, I have spent most of my spare time learning to shoot

a multitude of frightening weapons... "

Overall, this book is phenomenal. The description is amazing, the development is flawless, and the only teeny gripe I have is that I might have liked other viewpoints, but that's always the authors choice.